Simplified performance estimation of FSK/PSK hybrid signaling radar systems

FSK/PSK signaling radar systems make use of a pulse compression signaling scheme formed by a combination of two common modulation techniques: frequency shift keying (FSK) and phase shift keying (PSK). This technique of radar signaling can achieve high time-bandwidth products-the primary measure of radar signal processing gain. Since the ability of most radars to detect moving targets against a ground clutter background is often phase noise limited, if is feared that the phase noise of the oscillators required for synthesis of the signal component frequencies could result in a performance degradation that outweighs the performance improvement obtained from the complex signaling scheme. In this paper, the effects of phase noise on the digital Doppler processor of an FSK/PSK signaling radar system are analyzed in a very general fashion. These results can be applied to other types of radar systems that use other forms of pulse compression and also to systems that use no pulse compression. The analysis is based on a complete radar system stochastic process model and simplifying assumptions are made based on practical component characteristics. The paper concludes with a helpful example.<>